Pros: The layout is pretty good and the shots are varied. Holes 6/7 as others have mentioned are a great sequence; 8 would be better if not so hairy on either side of the fairway (I suggest a spotter).

Cons: Due to construction the course layout has suffered quite a bit. It is not easy to navigate and does not appear to be as well maintained as one might hope.

Pros: The Aptos High School course is by far the best course that I have ever played on the campus of a school. The course isn't without its flaws but on the whole, Aptos surpassed my expectations completely. The terrain for golf is beautiful and there is plenty of challenge to be had even though many of the holes are relatively short. Relatively thick rough also ensures that poor shots will be punished, so you'll be *thinking about safety shots on some of the more challenging holes (even if you still gunning for birdie).

Variety: Aptos has oodles of it with right/left turns, steep elevation changes, open/tight fairways, and a range of distances. Aptos also quenched my thirst for steep uphill shots - everyone wants to play big downhills but often a course designer will avoid uphill shots like the plague. Aptos doesn't shy away from asking players to throw in the 'other' direction and the course is that much better and more balanced for it.

Memorable holes: The stretch of holes from six to eight really stands out in my memory as a particularly fun group. Hole five shoots steeply up a hill to a rather large flat top of a hill. From there, hole six tees down a really tight corridor of interesting trees so thickly grouped that getting off the fairway means serious trouble. From there, you meet with a complete contrast in hole seven which is wide open with plenty of options to the pin. Seven still has big danger though as the pin is tucked out on the ridge of the hill. Any shot fading, turning, or flying too far will find themselves way off course! Finally, hole eight is a more traditional type of memorable hole - the big bomb off of the hill. By top-of-the-hill shots, it is fairly standard with some reasonable tree coverage and a good sized drop. The interesting thing is that you throw right over a BMX ramp - there were a few kids there doing huge jumps right as we were getting ready to tee and we had to coordinate so as not to have a midair collision. Check out the pictures, this is a great stretch of holes.

Cons: Safety: Other reviewers have mentioned it but you play by roads and a parking lot on several holes and even semi-decent shots have a chance to nick a car.

Navigation: From finding the first tee and then walking the rest of the course, we got lost several times. There are several places where the layout just isn't intuitive and without good signage, you'll just have to do some scouting in a few areas. Of course this 'con' is only a problem for first-time players.

I'll call out hole six on the design front really quickly. This hole throws steeply up a hill side with a pin perched about 20' from a WALL of trees in back. My issue is that players can really throw pretty much as hard as they wish, hit the wall, and land within the putting circle. A hole either tucked into the wall or farther away from it (closer to the tee) would force players to either throw more accurately or control distance better. As it stands right now, the hole doesn't make players throw either very accurately nor with touch.

Other Thoughts: Aptos is an excellent course for what it is, but I'd agree with the previous reviewer in that this type of terrain could have made a 'championship' caliber twelve hole course. I can understand the choice to keep it a bit shorter because it is a perfect course to have at a high school for up-and-coming players.

Pros: The Aptos High School course starts on the street leading up to the football field with hole one then plays up into woods beyond the field before coming back across a parking lot for hole # 4. Then 5-17 play through a rugged land area across street before returning to school grounds for # 18 which is a fun little downhill ACE run above the ball field. As previously mentioned, this course has a wide variety of terrain featuring a little bit of everything. This includes wooded areas with Oak and Eucalyptus trees, lots of scrubby brush, smaller trees, ravines, some very steep hills to contend with, coastel winds, open desert areas along with some vacant lot at the end along with the standard issue street feel of # 1 gives you the complete mixed bag effect here. The Disccatcher baskets are fairly new. Concrete teepads work well enough. We had very little problem navigating the course. While # 8 is a kick in the pants adrenalin rush, a spotter is maybe advisable. This course has open been open less than two years. It's a great little piece of land.

Cons: # 1 is not a good idea throwing up the street with the traffic. Neither is # 4 (?) throwing across the parking lot by the parked cars. #16 and 17 kind of had that filler hole feel to them. The signs had plenty of grafitti on them already. That's probably just the problem of being so near a high school. This course can be very hot, dry and dusty so bring sun protection and water.

Other Thoughts: The designers possibly could have taken a lesson from De La Raza. They might have been better off putting in a really nice 9 or possibly 12 hole course here instead of squeezing in a 18 holer. I don't know? Just a thought. All I know is that the students of Aptos High School are damn lucky to have this course on their campus.

Pros: Quite often we have played DeLaveaga without ever considering trying to play other local Monterey Bay courses. It was always a matter of convenience (DeLa is closer to SC) as well as being very difficult to imagine any other local course that would be near DeLa in quality. However, what I found at Aptos High School was indeed impressive, and I'm glad I found the time to play another course in the region.

Aptos High School is set in wooded hills just on the north side of the Pacific Coastal Highway, and has property containing a mixture of oaks (these come into play on holes 2-3), tall Eucalyptus, dense young Eucalytpus jungle (behind the basket of hole 5), and open areas (15-17), and mixtures of all of the above. The topography alone made me drool when I drove onto the campus, because I love the unique challenges that arise when topography, foliage, and wind (onshore wind is dominant) are combined over a course.

Younger/newer players will really enjoy this course, since there are a lot of short holes that reward accuracy and control. I couldn't think of a single hole that rewards distance alone, except maybe perhaps 17. Good tunnels, some with ceilings, and a diverse mixture of kinds of shots will ensure that a player will try every shot in their arsenal. This is a great place to learn disc golf!

The directions on the course were good, I never felt like we were lost at any point in our round.

There are a handful of epic holes at this course, which I'd love to play again and again, and is why I'm giving a higher than average rating for this course. The series of holes 6-10 are really fun...hole 6 (fun little tunnel along a ridge), hole 7 (short putter pitch out onto a narrow ridge with huge cliffs on all sides and lots of wind!), hole 8 (this course's "top of the world"), hole 9 (uphill and right turning dogleg through dense brush and trees), and hole 10 (a 400'-ish shot over a low treeline at 250'-ish off the tee) were the pinnacle for me personally.

Cons: Lots of poison oak here, folks. Seriously, everywhere I looked there was some of this stuff lurking beneath the brush. If you're sensitive to it, be sure to wear pants and proper shoes, and use a towel to retrieve your disc out of the schule.

The tee signs were not good, and many had graffiti all over them instead of useful information such as distances. Nevertheless, We only had one confused drive (from tee-4 to basket-18) before catching that the real basket was elsewhere.

Holes 16-17 weren't all that interesting, being completely open (even though 17 lets one air it out more, it was a straightforward uphill shot). I kinda felt like they were there just to make 18 total. Holes 1 and 4 were also not very interesting.

Other Thoughts: What a fun course to have at a high school, I wish I had that when I was younger!

Pros:
Aptos High School DGC is located in the beautiful city of Aptos, just minutes away from the beach, and neighbors Santa Cruz where De LaVeaga resides. This course in a lot of ways reminded me of a miniature De La, with the towering Eucalyptus trees, fast dirt fairways, ravines, elevation, and even the oak! Fairways were a mixture of tight tunnel shots through a labyrinth of trees and wide open fairways which required both distance and touch. Elevation was incorporated in much of the design, which makes this course much more challenging and enjoyable. During a round, players will have the opportunity to throw several types of shots at various distances so bringing your disc golf bag is a good idea. However, pros could get away with using a few discs or even just a Buzzz. This course is perfect for intermediate to advanced players, but would still be the perfect place to practice for pros. The holes are balanced, flow well, and are easy to follow if using the course map.

Even though it was my first time at this course, I grew up and lived near this area for over 20 years. That being said, directions to the course were extremely easy to follow, and the high school had plenty of parking available in the gravel lots below the football field. Bathrooms are on campus, but are not open to public during school hours or weekends, so just be aware and know that at least there are plenty of bushes to water. Terrain can be pretty rugged at times so bring good walking boots, sunscreen, and lots of water. The course was clean and well maintained, and the cement tee pads seemed to be the proper dimensions for this size course. The New Mach II baskets were all in great shape and caught well, and were placed strategically on many of the holes near obstacles.

Holes #6 and #8 stood out as two of their signature holes in Aptos. Hole #6 was a low 263 foot tunnel shot between two rows of Eucalyptus trees. Hole #8 was their most famous "top of the world" shot, which lived up to its name...although no De La. The hole was 435 feet with a steep drop and a fairway that gets increasingly more narrow toward the pin.Both are quite challenging in their own way, they're picturesque, and would make a fine addition to any course.

Cons:
Although there were several things about this course that impressed me, tee signs was not one of them. Without a map, first timers will definitely have some issues with navigation considering the course plays all around the campus and along the hillsides. Many of the tee signs are there but most have been marked up.

The walk out from hole seventeen to eighteen is a little long and all uphill, which I imagine can get old quickly. Fortunately, hole eighteen is a fun little downhill birdie shot that makes its way back toward the parking lot. There are however, some short open holes on this course which makes shooting under quite easy.

Last, the poison oak. Even though I don't have many issues with it, just be aware and know that if you stray too far from the fairway you could end up in trouble. It did look though that much of it had been cut out.

Other Thoughts:
Aptos High School DGC is one of the better courses I have played yet on a campus. These students are very fortunate to play this anytime they want. It can easily be incorporated in to their Physical Education program, a sports club, or for physical therapy. It is a perfect complimentary course to the other nearby ones like Pinto Lake, De LaVeaga, and Black Mouse.

Pros: This is the best course I have played. The unique mix and variation of basket locations makes each hole exciting. Contrary to what many other reviewers have said, all of the holes are now more than 100', all of the tee pads are in, and there are plenty of signs leading you around the school.

Cons: The poison oak is rampant, however if you watch where you walk, it's not a problem.

Other Thoughts: Forget all of you skeptics who don't like the course because you're not allowed to smoke or drink while playing. I can't imagine that you'll have a very good game if your drunk or high anyways.

Pros: great combination of shots- uphill, downhill, narrow hallways, open land. impressive layout. very easy to navigate. most baskets are visible from tee pad, clean and well-maintained. great signs and next-tee arrows.never crowded (and if so its always a nice santa cruz crowd). always FREE parking.

Cons: hole #1 is kinda weird. (at least they finally put a red tee line on the concrete) out-of-bound areas need to be marked (the road on #1 is out-of-bounds, and the parking lot gravel on #4 apparently is too). no smoking/drinking. shot distances on many holes seem questionable (need to be remeasured for correct pin placements). cant play during school hours.

Other Thoughts: great for all ages, beginners and pros. nice clean secluded area. top of the world shot is very cool! honestly, one of my favorite courses. i shot 10 over my first time, and 2 over my second time (after respecting a few tricky shots...lol). hard to lose a disc here (except on baskets #6, #7 and #8 you might be looking for a minute)... beware on hole #7 (theres a huge drop-off), and hole #8 (top of the world) you might need a spotter, theres a few kinda boring shots after such exciting ones... but, for it being a full 18 course and its location- id say it gives Dela a run for its money... and its close to Aptos Street BBQ!!!!!!

Pros: -A good variety of uphill and downhill hill shots as well as open to moderately wooded shots
-Good course for beginners
-Some great "vista" shots. some holes are very memorable
-1 through 8 were fun to play
-The people were extremely nice and open to new comers
-Course is starting to catch on within the disc golf community (more crowded)
-Concrete tee pads (though a bit short a times)
-Well marked. No need for a map as long as you know where to begin. (By the stairs)
-Course wraps around to the start

Other Thoughts: Aptos is a fun little course to play once just for kicks and to experience the top of the world hole (#8). I'm used to open bomber holes so it took a couple of holes to get a grasp of my technical side. If you know how to throw straight you will be fine. If you don't, expect to be redirected by a friendly tree and shoot par. All and all the experience was good largely in part due to the friendly community that calls Aptos its home.

Pros: Mostly wide open, with only a few really tight fairways. Great for beginners( I play there once or twice a week with my 5 yr old.) Never crowded. The number 8(old 7) is one of those great shots from the top of the hill with the baskets tucked into a group of trees. Signage has really improved and is very easy to navigate for first time visiters. Big thanks to Jake Russo for designing and putting in this fun course.

Cons: Poison Oak is on every hole. Can't play during school hours.(Poison oak is still everywhere, but a lot has been taken out of the fairways)

Other Thoughts: This is where I learned to play and its 3 mins from my house. I would like to see a practice basket and a donation box put in. Usually though you can warm up on the #4 basket, since no one is ever there.Jake has made a donation box and will be putting it up soon on #1.

Cons: -Poison Oak is not hard to find
-Maybe a little more signage, like an arrow pointing where to go next after a few baskets

Other Thoughts: When I went, they were missing #17, but it was moved near 1 and called 1A, so we still threw 18 holes. #1 was kinda lame, basket between a road and a fence, but everything after that was beautiful. Directions are spot on and parking is plentiful, This course all around is very cool.